Atlanta: Dodge teams race quotes

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger)
ON THE RACE TODAY: "We had a good a car -- a top-10 car most of the day.
(Juan) Montoya couldn't hold the steering wheel straight going down the
back straightaway and drove up into me and knocked my...

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger)

ON THE RACE TODAY: "We had a good a car -- a top-10 car most of the day.
(Juan) Montoya couldn't hold the steering wheel straight going down the
back straightaway and drove up into me and knocked my fender in. We
had to pit - we had tire rub - it's unfortunate that we couldn't get a
yellow late in the race to get on the lead lap. I'm positive that our
Alltel Dodge Charger was better than 14th - I guarantee you that."

***

KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger)

HOW DIFFICULT WAS THE RACING TODAY? "The tires just made it more of a
handful. It was a long race for us. We were very, very loose at the
beginning. We were probably 20th with the lap down cars, so we were in
our own race for three-quarters of the race. When we did get the lucky
dog, it was green to the end, so we had a tough time catching up. We did
grab two extra spots at the end as we continued to battle. I don't think
we could have finished any higher. We worked really hard for 11th and it
feels good."

***

BOBBY LABONTE (No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge Charger)

ON THE RACE TODAY: "I thought that we were way better at the beginning
of the race today. We just could never find the tune-up later in the
day. We just have something that we're given up a little bit -- it's
just crazy -- we can undo and redo, we just never seem to make it
better. It was still a good top-12 for the No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker
Dodge Charger and we'll just try and build on that for Bristol."

***

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger)

HOW MUCH OF A HANDFUL WAS YOUR RACE CAR TODAY? "We just started further
forward (in our tune-up) in the first part of the race so it wasn't as
obvious how bad we were at the start of the race. The longer we went on
with the race, the harder it was to figure it out. It was hard to get it
right. Everybody struggled with the conditions as far as grip with that
tire -- definitely some more than others."

***

ROBBY GORDON (No. 7 Valvoline Dodge Charger)

ON THE RACE TODAY: "I don't know. Twenty-fourth I guess at the end of it
is the brightest thing to say about the day. We had a pretty good car at
times. We just didn't take off on every restart. We paid a price for the
first 15 or so laps and it just took too long for the car to come into
play. Towards the end of our runs we were pretty good with the Valvoline
Dodge Charger."

ON THE TIRES: "I didn't have any problems. I don't know about my
teammates, but I don't think that they popped them either. We slid
around man. It's a wild ride out there for sure."

***

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 42 Wrigley's Big Red Dodge Charger)

ON THE RACE TODAY: "It was an OK day. We never could get a good line
all day long. We were really loose out of the corners and never could
get a consistent run. It was really tough to get any grip most of the
day and when the track got warmer, it made it even worse. I was happy
that we were able to get a top-15 finish for our Wrigley's Big Red Dodge
Charger."

***

DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 41 Fastenal Dodge Charger)

ON THE RACE TODAY: "It was important to finish. It's just like every
week for us -- a learning experience. I can not believe how loose the
cars were all day. I think everybody was in the same boat and just
hanging on. We hit the wall a couple times just exit just with the thing
being so loose and the rear being stuck out so much, but we finished.
We kind of got hurt there -- Edwards put us on the same lap as a bunch
of the guys ahead of us and Edwards just lapped us and then blew up, by
which point that got us a lap further down which we didn't need. I drove
as hard as I could all day. My guys did a great job with the pit stops.
We just couldn't get the adjustments in the car to handle the way we
needed."

ON GETTING LAPS AND EXPERIENCE: "Oh, it's important. It's important to
get experience, but I just wish I had some better results to show for
it. We are all doing our best."

HOW CONCERNED ARE YOU ABOUT THE TOP-35? "It is what it is. We'll just do
our best and if we're out, we're out. We'll just have to do qualifying
performances like we did on Friday night. If we end up out of it we'll
work our way back in -- there's nothing else you can do."

ON BRISTOL: "Bristol is going to be wild. In one way I'm looking forward
to it. We'll see what happens."

***

ELLIOTT SADLER (No. 19 Best Buy Dodge Charger)

ON THE RACE TODAY: "We struggled from the minute we unloaded here on
Friday, even though we qualified pretty well. We kept trying different
things on Saturday during practice to get better. Once the race started,
it quickly became apparent we were going to be in for a long day. We
tried air pressure, track bar and shock adjustments throughout the race
but I just couldn't get the rear grip I needed. At times, it felt like
we were about to wreck almost every lap. I hate that we had to end the
race like we did, especially after the great one we had in Las Vegas
last week. All we can do is go back to the shop and fix this car, look
over our notes, talk to our teammates and try to figure out how we can
be better at 1.5 mile tracks. I know this Best Buy Dodge team is totally
capable of achieving that task."

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOU SPUN AND HIT THE WALL? "Turn Two was really tough
for us today. I spun that one time and the back bumper was a little bent
up from nudging the outside wall, but the car wasn't damaged too badly.
On that last spin, I was just trying too hard and the back end came
around coming off Turn 2 and we ended up nose first on the inside wall.
I know this hurts us in the points, but the good news is we're headed
to Bristol. I like that track and we'll do all we can to get our points
back."

***

SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 77 Penske Truck Rental Dodge Charger)

ON THE RACE TODAY: "We got a lot of laps in and the car was really
good on the first run and then from there we just couldn't get it back
tightened up. It was so free I felt like I was running on dirt most of
the race [smile]. But we kept it underneath us and kept running out
there. It's definitely a learning experience. All the guys on the Penske
Truck Rental Dodge did a great job for me in the pits today. We're all
getting used to working with each other and trying to make the right
directions, that's tough enough to do in practice let alone on the
fly in the race so I was pretty happy with that. I was a little bit
frustrated at times with the car, just decided that we couldn't get any
better.

Next week will be different and each time we go to one of these races
and get to run the full thing I've got a better idea of what I need out
of the car the next time we come back. We were pretty loose all the time
and had a really tough time getting it off the corner going sideways
most of the time [smiles]."

HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO RACE HARD AND RACE FOR POSITIION BUT RACE
RESPECTFULLY? "You've got to be careful running with the guys that are
on the lead lap. Even other guys if they consistently get a run on you,
you've kind of got to let 'em go by, as long as they do the same thing
for you. A lot of guys want you to let them go by if they've got six
inches of their nose up there, but you can be all the way up beside them
and they won't life. It's just getting to know everybody and running
with and who you can run side-by-side with and them getting comfortable
with you, too, and feeling like they can let you go because you'll let
them go next time."

***

PATRICK CARPENTIER (No. 10 Cintas Dodge Charger)

"It was a long day and a long race. Being loose makes it pretty long. We
fixed it at one point, got it tighter and started running some decent
laps; but at the beginning I was way loose and using the rear tires a
little too much there. We're learning and trying to figure out ways to
make it smoother and try making it better a

little bit and make myself better and everything. To run the whole race
makes us pretty happy. Thanks to Cintas who came in (as a sponsor) this
weekend. We got some points this weekend, so that's not too bad. It's
hard work. It's a tough deal."

ON POINTS: "It's important, but missing Daytona cost us some good points
there. Missing California put us behind. We got put in the wall at
Vegas, so we basically missed three races. We're behind, so we'll see
if we can get back into it a little bit later. We seem to not be too
bad qualifying, so hopefully we can keep making races and getting those
points."